Reese stood up, drew her out of her chair and into his arms. “It’s okay. There’s no way you can know what your ex-husband was doing that night. I’ve spoken to Nathan Temple. He’s a criminal attorney, one of the best in the city. He’s expecting us in his office first thing tomorrow morning.”
Kenzie shook her head. “Reese, no. It’s too much. You don’t have to take on my troubles. You’ve already done more than enough.”
“I’m going to help you, Kenzie. You might as well resign yourself.”
He was taking control. It was his way of handling a situation. She wanted to ask him why he would go to so much trouble. But she knew him, knew how protective he could be. This was Reese, the man she was already half in love with.
Standing together in the kitchen, Kenzie leaned into him, rested her head on his shoulder. “This isn’t what you signed on for when you took me to bed.”
Reese tipped her face up and softly kissed her. “Don’t worry. The paybacks I have in mind will make up for all the trouble.”
The corners of her mouth tipped into a smile at the humor in his voice. It was the best she had felt all day. The sound of a door opening and footfalls on the stairs ended the conversation.
Kenzie stepped away as Gran and Griff walked into the kitchen. Griff’s eyes were red and swollen, his face puffy.
“I’m sorry about your dad, Griff,” Reese said.
Fresh tears welled. “Me, too.”
Gran mustered a credible smile. “I know just the thing we need to cheer us up. Anyone ready for a piece of hot apple pie?”
Kenzie felt a rush of gratitude. “Sounds perfect,” she said.
But catching Reese’s worried expression, thinking of Lee’s murder and the accusations against her, she knew perfect was exactly the wrong word.
* * *
Reese was just about to leave for work the next morning, when Detective Heath Ford showed up at his apartment.
“Thanks for seeing me,” Ford said as he stepped out of the private elevator into the high-ceilinged entry. “This is an unofficial visit. I came to talk to you off the record. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“I was just heading out,” Reese said, not inviting him farther into the room. “What is it?”
“We both know you didn’t spend Saturday night with Kenzie Haines.”
Reese lounged back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “That right? How do you know?”
“Because you never left your apartment that night. I checked with the guard in the lobby. He said you were home all weekend. No visitors.”
Reese shrugged. “You just came up in my private elevator. Maybe I slipped out without him seeing me. Better if no one knows I’m dating an employee.”
“I guess it’s possible. In that case, maybe I should add you to our suspect list. You’re dating Haines’s ex-wife, which gives you access to her pistol, and you have no confirmed alibi.”
“You’re reaching, Detective.”
“Maybe. What was your relationship with Lee Haines?”
“I didn’t have one.”
“But you do have one with his ex-wife.”
“That’s right.”
“How far would you go to protect her?”
Reese’s jaw tightened. “She didn’t kill Haines, Detective.”
Ford reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked tired, as if he’d been putting a lot of overtime into the case. Reese hoped he was. He trusted the detective to eventually find the truth.
“I came here to tell you ballistics confirmed Kenzie’s revolver was the murder weapon. I thought you should also know there was no forced entry the night of the murder. Do you know if Kenzie has a key to her husband’s home?”
“I doubt it. They’re divorced.”
“They share custody of her son. Or they did before he wound up dead. Why don’t you ask her?”
“I don’t need to ask her. I know she didn’t kill her ex-husband.”
“I want to talk to her again, Reese. You can bring her down to the station sometime today, or I can have her picked up. I can hold her up to forty-eight hours without filing charges.”
After a year in detention, Reese knew exactly what the police could do. “Fine. We’ll be there as soon as I can make the arrangements. Nathan Temple is her attorney. He’ll be with her when she comes in.”
“She might want to think about cooperating instead of lawyering up. Just makes her look guilty.”
“Bullshit. She needs someone to stand up for her. That’s what Temple is paid to do.”
“Be careful, Reese. You’ve already stuck your neck way out for this woman. You don’t want this coming back to bite you on the ass.”
“You finished?”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
As soon as Ford was gone, Reese called Nate Temple. The attorney agreed to meet him and Kenzie at police headquarters. Then he phoned Kenzie at the office.
“I need you to clear my schedule for the next couple of hours. And clear your own. We’re meeting Nathan Temple at police headquarters. I’m on my way to pick you up.”
Since the protesters were still in front of the building, Reggie Porter was waiting in a black SUV limo downstairs. With everything else that was happening, not driving his own car had begun to seem like a minor imposition.
“All right,” Kenzie said, but Reese heard the sound of distress she made as she hung up the phone.
SEVENTEEN
The Dallas Police Department downtown on South Lamar was a recently remodeled five-story red-and-beige structure. Kenzie imagined it was supposed to look welcoming, a symbol of stability in the Dallas community. It just looked daunting to her.
Reese walked beside her as they pushed through the front doors. An attractive man with silver-threaded light brown hair came forward as they approached.
“Nate.” Reese extended his hand. “Appreciate your coming on such short notice.”
“No problem.” In an expensive black three-piece suit, Nathan Temple oozed dignity and class, and there was an air of confidence about him that Kenzie found comforting.
“This is McKenzie Haines,” Reese said.
“A pleasure, Ms. Haines,” Nate said.
“It’s just Kenzie. Thank you for helping.”
They exchanged a few pleasantries, then Temple led her down a long corridor to where Detective Ford waited. They went into a stark white interview room with a mirror on one wall—two-way glass, she imagined, just like in the movies. It was chilly in the room. Kenzie shivered as she sat down in a metal chair across from Detective Ford. She felt Reese’s coat drape around her shoulders before he sat down.